Paypal!

So I set up a Paypal account with which to take software sales for Tank Universal. I also have a Share-It account, but people had been requesting Paypal as well, so I figure it's all good.

Yesterday, I get an email from Paypal saying that a transaction (sale) has been flagged as unusual/suspicious and they've blocked my account.
So, someone else has possibly been naughty and Paypal's reaction is to block me and cause me to lose sales. Great.

To resolve this, I've had to send them copies of my credit card account, utility bill + photo ID.

I think I can understand Paypal's reasoning, but it's a little stiff? Someone else may have been naughty, and I get shut down and have to send my life's story to Paypal!

And what if they don't accept my details? Do they 'confiscate' my sales revenue?

BMT Micro accepts PayPal payments and takes a lesser cut than Share*It.

Share*It has a much better shop owner interface though.



Uhhh...

How were you contacted about this? Email I presume.

Are you SURE the email was from Paypal? Were you actually locked out of your account? Did you try logging in by going to paypal.com rather than clicking a provided link in the email?

I've gotten phishing emails which say similar things. I hope for your sake it was legit, or you just screwed yourself big time. Locking your account because someone else used a fishy credit card is itself fishy, as is asking for a utility bill and a photo id.

Check that email again. See where the links go. If they don't go to paypal.com and instead only LOOK like they go to paypal.com but actually go to something like paypal.2823783.hjkasdhjkf.net, then it's a scam. If it was a scam, then you need to contact your bank immediately, get your checking account changed, and you might want to think about googling how to lock your credit report so that nobody can use your information to get credit cards in your name. (You won't be able to get new credit yourself until you unlock it though.) If you gave them your credit card info you'll also want to get that canceled and get issued a new card.

I highly doubt that Paypal would ask for copies of utility bills, let alone photo ID, so I would be a bit concerned about this if it was me. As sswift says, have you checked that the account is actually closed? I have used paypal for a very long time now, it must be at least 6-7 years and have never experienced anything like it from them. They really never send emails asking for information, only emails providing information, like when you pay someone or someone pays you.

One of my customers challenged a transaction for game credits in an online game I used to run, and paypal just locked the transaction - not the whole account. I imagine there are scenarios where they would lock the account, though.

Just some general advice:-

When responding to emails from paypal and similar companies, never click on the links provided in the email. Always log into your account and check the messages in the account's message que, to see if the message was genuine.

Aye - it's definitely from Paypal - no links in the email, logged on to Paypal directly, the account was locked and went through their issue resolution process.

Still waiting to see the results of their 'investigation'.

Don't ever send your credit card statement to anybody. I am amazed that Paypal would ask you to do such a thing knowing the risk involved for you. (WEIRD/SCARY)

I had to send my CC Details to my Webhost to prove that the CC was mine. They asked for a scan of my passport, a utility bill and the front and back of my Credit Card.

I had no problems doing that but asked them to make sure that no one got a hold of them.

As for paypal; the same happened to me. I was selling some stuff on ebay and a buyer used a stolen Credit Card to purchase the items. Paypal locked my account as a security measure and asked for proof of who I was. As soon as I sent it, within days, they unlocked the account, gave me compensation for the lost ebay stuff and made my account confirmed.

Sounds like PayPal is having some security issues recently (I don't know if you heard about the rumor PayPal was going to block Safari, because of lack of security - which has been debunked).

!!Make sure this isnt a phish. !!

I get many, many of these with that same wording. NEVER follow any embedded links in an email even if they look genuine, if you have, log in to paypal asap and change your password.

If paypal have genuinely sent you a mail like this then log in to your account by typing the exact URL www.paypal.com and nothing else (you should never log in any other way). If they have something important to say then it will be obvious when you log in.

Think about it, why would they block your account for someone elses suspicious activity? Thats like closing down someones shop because someone used a dodgy card.

[edit] Oh i read further down where you did actually log in and there were no links. Still sounds Phishy to me though, make sure there isnt some re-direction malware or something taking you somewhere else.

It sonds very fishy to me, I would double and triple check that all the Paypal communication is legit. I hope for your sake it really was a genuine communication.

Darkheart

Sounds odd. I had an email recently with near identical wording to yours. I forwarded it to paypal who confirmed it was a phishing attempt.

I read somewhere that Paypal are going to block access from old, insecure browsers. Don't think Safari was mentioned, but IE3 was.

I've gotten some phishing emails lately claiming to be from my bank. Some are obviously fake ( wrong bank ). But others are quite good, a big improvement over the old days of ineptly written junk. I could see how people fall for this sort of thing.

Of course my real bank would never send me email asking for sensitive information.

>Yesterday, I get an email from Paypal saying that a
>transaction (sale) has been flagged as unusual/suspicious and
>they've blocked my account.

Did they block incomming payments as well?

Paypal is a dodgy company. Ripping people off all the time. They won't care that they are screwing you while trying to protect themselves.

Paypals one and only problem is that someone who sends you money has the possibility to make the transaction void ... thats pure bullshit as they will take the money from you during investigations.

Yes - so for a while potential purchasers were linking through to a Paypal page that said the seller was blocked from receiving funds - which basically made me look dodgy (I've since taken down the Paypal link).

Just to make it clear, the email referred to a recent paypal sale, included all the details for that sale and did not include any link/links for me to click. I have some idea what a phishing email looks like ;-)

Also, on logging onto Paypal.com and logging into my account, it is quite clear my account is blocked and that Paypal really are asking for these details. They have a 'disputes resolution' centre that handles blocked accounts and they have a checklist of documents they want to see.

It's a good idea to have multiple payment processors to ensure that your customers always have a way to pay you.

Have you set up a business Paypal account? I used to take payments directly through Paypal and never had a problem. I direct everything through Plimus now though. Much nicer than BMT or ShareIt, imo.

I have Share-It as well, but was getting requests for Paypal.


Yes. I think it's just a combination of this being a new account and somebody possibly using a fraudulent credit card. Bit rough that it shuts me down though.
If it goes on much longer, I'll be going elsewhere as you guys have suggested - Plimus or BMT Micro.

I don't know about ShareIt or BMT, but Plimus process PayPal transactions for you, as one of their payment options, so your own PayPal account is unaffected by any problems, but your customers can still pay by PayPal.

If I want to buy something and it only has PAYPAL as an option, I totally avoid the purchase. I DONT deal with PAYPAL. Something to keep in mind when selling a product, have multiple payment options to cater for WEIRD individuals like me.

I have had dealings with PAYPAL before and when they started with the "SEND ME ALL YOUR PERSONAL DETAILS" crap, I dropped them like a hot potatoe.

I have Share-It as an option - how do they tickle you?

Anyway, Paypal's unblocked my account (like a drain?), so all those people who haven't gotten their copy of Tank Universal yet, you can get straight on it! Just click the link below. You know who you are ;-)

http://www.tankuniversal.com/PURCHASE.html

@Gabriel: Like I said above, BMT Micro has PayPal as one of its payment options, and Share*It has not (or didn't, back in 2004), the reason why I chose BMT Micro over Share*It.

Once your account is confirmed and you've gone through at least one "suspicious activity - reconfirm your account" session, they should be more lenient.

Pain in the backside for me not so long ago when someone tried hacking my PayPal account. PayPal blocked my account and I had to find a landline telephone to reconfirm everything.

Oh yes, sorry, I missed your reply in the sea of phishing replies.

I also refuse to do any business that requires Paypal. They are corrupt and have no problems screwing one person over. Any company that deals in that kind of money and responsibility, but won't give you a 1-800 number to get Customer Service should be avoided like the plague. I no longer use eBay because most people use Paypal there now.

I sold some memory on eBay years ago using Paypal for the transaction. Months after an auction of $600 worth of stuff, I had the money, buyer had the memory, Paypal tells me the credit card was used fraudulently and they wanted the money back. They blocked my account and tried to pull money from my checking account, but I had already warned the bank to disallow it. They refused to listen to anything I had to say. They had decided they were taking the money back and there was no discussion.

Funny thing is, Paypal is not a financial institution in any way. They actually have no legal recourse in making you give them money they think they are owed. They can't even put a bad mark on your credit report.

I just allowed my Paypal account to be blocked and quit using them. Haven't touched them since.